I Don't Care
by KodiakWolfe13
Summary: There were lots of things that grinded Jason Todd's gears. A small portion of the student body at Gotham Academy was one of them. (Pre-Hood.) (One-Shot.) (Dedicated to anyone who has been flamed/bullied/cyber-bullied/abused in general.)


**Disclaimer: I _wish_ I was special enough to own the Bats.**

* * *

There were many things that grinded Jason Todd's gears. Somewhere near the top of the list, a small portion of the Gotham Academy student body stood proudly as one of the most irritating of offenses. So when one of the people in that small portion pushed his buttons just a little too much, he was more than willing to dish out some steaming hot retaliation.

Jason switched his books out from his locker and into his backpack, getting ready for the first half of his day. His hands worked on autopilot, having been through this routine for the past couple of months. The teen didn't even have to think about going through the motions anymore. All he had to do was make sure he had grabbed his homework or Alfred would whoop his ass when he got home.

After closing his locker door and fixing his backpack on his shoulder, Jason began walking down the hall towards his first class. He kept his gaze lowered to the ground, eyes darting back and forth occasionally. Jason only looked up completely when one of the older students began picking on one of the kids in Jason's first class. His eyes narrowed at the older teen, recognizing him immediately.

The senior, named Devin, was the current ringleader of the small group of students that bullied the 'undeserving of Gotham Academy' or something like that. Jason had stopped listening to the rants a long time ago; they were so boring. He was ninety percent sure he almost fell-asleep the first time listening to it. Gotham's villains had much better skills at going off in long monologues and keeping a person interested.

Seeing as the girl Devin was picking on was blushing madly and trying to hide her face, Jason knew whatever the older boy was saying hurt and hurt badly. His expression settled into a deep frown and furiously burning eyes. He carefully aimed his approach and 'obliviously' rammed into the senior's side as he was passing. The girl wasted no time in retreating and getting to her first class, shooting Jason a grateful look over her shoulder.

Jason feigned an apologetic look as the older teen stumbled back a few paces before catching himself. With an amused smirk on his face and an innocent tone in his voice, Batman's partner-in-crime said, "Oh, so sorry! Didn't see you there, Devin! I was too busy admiring the hurt look on that girl's face because some bastard was being the biggest prick on the earth. Oh wait, that was you."

Devin glared at the younger student, ignoring how the other students were starting to watch with apprehension. "Well, if it isn't the street-rat."

"Got a problem with the streets?" Jason questioned, knowing full well the answer but wondering if the older had any brain-power to come up with a creative answer.

"I do when the streets decide to leave its trash in all the wrong places." Devin hissed, stepping closer to Jason. Anyone else might have felt threatened; Jason had taken out way worse than some prep-school boy with an ego the size of the moon. Seriously, Devin had no idea how bad the 'trash' on the streets could be.

Grinning, Jason gleefully said, "I would _pay you_ to say that to anyone living in Crime Alley. _Please_. That would be _the_ greatest show I could ever see in my life, especially when you realize I'm not the worst person who's lived there."

Devin only sneered at the younger student before stalking off, more than finished with the younger boy. Smirking in amusement, Jason went on his merry way, ignoring the stares from the other students. They didn't say anything but he knew they would once he was gone. After all, that's how gossips roll, right?

Jason didn't come across anyone else from Devin's little group of bullies. It wasn't unusual since the group was small; they just happened to have some of the loudest voices in the school. Many of the other students had attempted to destroy the group but none of the participants stayed down for long. They always came back, like cockroaches.

The ward of Bruce Wayne hadn't been affected by the group's words for a long time though. At first, it was a little bothersome before all of it became more of a drone in the background. Besides, he'd heard worse while living on Park Row. He'd even said worse things himself. Who cared if a bunch of pricks thought he was nothing more than trash?

On that note, Jason also realized insults hurt a lot of the kids going to Gotham Academy. And all because of one group. It's why Jason was so willing to step up and help out the other bullied students, attempting to make himself the group of bullies' number one target so he could take the brunt of the abuse. He could take it better than anyone else.

Jason's classes up till lunch were completely uneventful. He got to class; he listened for however long; class let out and he went to his next class to repeat the same process. Lunch eventually did come around and it was more than a blessing for Jason and his aching head. After lunch, he had study hall, where he worked on his project for English. He planned on working on it for the entire time he was in study hall but, of course, life had other plans.

Blue eyes drifted up from the book they were staring at when two of Jason's unnamed classmates sat across from him at his table in his library. The window next to them let the sunlight brighten the large room. Other students wandered around, checking out books and looking for others. Even fewer sat at tables, reading or studying.

Upon recognizing his classmates, Jason knew they were some of the new recruits for Devin's group of bastards. Both boys were wearing smirks and just sitting casually across from him. Raising an eyebrow at the two, Jason sarcastically asked, "Can I help you?"

"Nope. We're just hanging out." One of the two whispered, bobbing his head.

Jason's blue eyes drifted back down to his book without a second to spare. All he wanted to do was get the project finished and he refused to listen to whatever Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum had to say. It couldn't be any more obnoxious than whatever Devin had said that morning.

Just as Jason suspected, the two quietly began whispering amongst themselves, talking about the other boy sitting across from them like he wasn't there. For a little while, Jason was able to ignore the drone of their voices and keep focus on what he was reading. However, as time dragged on, Jason began listening in on what they were saying because it was so pathetic it wasn't even funny.

Frustrated, Jason's blue eyes peeked over his book. "I'm sorry guys but for you to insult me, I must first value your opinion. Nice try though."

Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum both continued to whisper, as if they didn't hear what Jason had just said. That would be impossible though since Jason was talking in a dead-quiet library… Right?

Feeling his eye twitch at the two across from him, Jason continued, "Yo dumb-asses, _my give-a-damn's busted_. Go find someone who cares, like your mother."

Still feigning being deaf, the two boys continued chattering quietly to each other, saying petty insults about Jason while his anger level continued to rise. Batman's partner could feel himself being stared at by the other students in vicinity, wondering what he was going to do about the two morons, especially since he couldn't scare them away with his own words.

Jason hoped the other bullied students were watching closely because he was going to give the two low-lives a lesson.

Within a couple of seconds, Jason stood, grabbed the closest boy, and threw him against the window to the side. The window shattered and Jason wasted no time in sticking half his body out the window as the other boy slammed into the ground, screaming " _I give zero fucks, bastard! Get that through your fucking head!_ "

As Jason was about to do something to the boy's partner, he heard someone yell, "Young man, what _the hell_ did you just do?!"

"Ah shit…"

* * *

Jason stayed slumped in his seat as he listened to Bruce's footsteps as he stepped into the office. He didn't look to the older as his guardian stood beside his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Eyes stayed lock on the wall behind the principal as the Prince of Gotham said, "Hello Mrs. Wood. It's nice to see you, Mr. Pierce."

The principal, Cecelia Wood, strained to smile at the billionaire while the man standing to the side with his two sons (they had been fraternal twins; who knew?) outright glared at the billionaire. His two boys were both glaring at Jason with heated expressions. The one that had been thrown through the window had his clothes torn with green stains covering the white shirt but he looked no worse for wear than usual.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne." Wood greeted, sighing as she tapped her manicured fingernails against the wood desk in front of her.

The other adult merely muttered Bruce's last name under his breath, showing just how unhappy he was with that one word.

Looking between the angry parent, angry boys, and unhappy principal, Bruce frowned uneasily at the group around him. "May I ask why I'm here and why Jason is in trouble?"

"Well…" Wood started, cringing at the thought.

The boy that had been physically assaulted by Jason eagerly stepped forward, pointed at the black-haired, and yelled "That piece of trash threw me through a window!"

The principal glared at the boy, saying his name sharply. His father pulled him back, also giving the teen, _Elliot_ , a glare that said to keep his mouth shut. Bruce looked towards his sinking ward with a sharp expression and questioned, "You did _what_?!"

"He deserved it. And, come on, we were on the first floor. He's fine." Jason said weakly, tightening his arms around his chest as he half-gestured to Elliot with his hand. He continued to keep his blue gaze from Bruce's angry expression. Jason's own face was morphed into careful neutrality, hiding whatever nervousness he was feeling.

Wood sighed again before stating, "I've been trying to convince Mr. Pierce to not press charges."

" _Jason_ …"

"I know, Bruce, I know… I'm in a shit-load of trouble."

" _Language_ and yes, yes you are."

Jason rolled his eyes at being corrected for his use of swears and knew his habit probably wasn't going to break anytime soon. "Would it help to tell you I at least had a reason for throwing him through a window?"

"Please, amuse us." Pierce said, glaring at Bruce's ward just as heatedly as before. He was stiff in his place beside his two boys and was ready to spring on anyone if they said the wrong thing.

Bruce glared at the other man while Wood waved her hand around, saying, "Go ahead, Jason."

The teen sat up in his seat, took a breath, and then recounted the tale leading up to Elliot's trip out the window. Jason had no problem giving direct quotes from himself or either of the boys, even admitting that he had been planning on turning on Elliot's brother and giving him a smack-down as well. The ebony-haired teen was as truthful as he could be, knowing that it might help lighten his punishment while he also trashed the brother's perfect image.

As expected, the twins objected to the treatment they gave to Jason, claiming they were merely sitting across from the street-kid when he suddenly went berserk. Jason only shrugged and suggested that the adults ask any of the other students in the library at the time the event happened. That made the two boys nervous, which made Jason smirk.

Beside his difficult ward, Bruce sighed as he listened to Pierce threaten to press charges, despite what really happened. Wood was giving the father a glare, obviously finding both sides at fault. Bruce spoke up, saying, "Mr. Pierce, I do understand that what Jason did was unnecessary, uncalled for, and over the top," Bruce pointed a glare at the boy. "but his attack didn't go unprovoked and your son wasn't seriously injured. If we had wanted to, Jason could've done some serious damage. He was only trying to make a point, though he didn't do it the right way."

"And I fear Bruce's punishments more than I fear juvie. Sorry." Jason commented, shrugging. He got a slap on the head for that one, yelping at the sudden strike that was made to shut him up. Jason growled but dropped his gaze back to the floor.

After some more prodding at Peirce, he dropped the threat of charges. All three boys were punished for what happened with suspension. The twins were given a heck of a lot less time than Jason because they had only provoked him with words while the ebony-haired boy had thrown one of them through a window, which Bruce was more than willing to replace since it was broken.

After the meeting, everyone was sent home by Wood, who was more than exasperated by the entire dilemma.

The walk to Bruce's car was quiet and part of the ride home was just as silent. Jason was sulking while Bruce was thinking over the situation and analyzing it.

Finally, Bruce asked, "Why did their words bother you so much?"

Jason, for a moment, could only stare ahead. Bruce was more than aware of his 'immunity' to insults. The only attacks that bothered him anymore were the comments Bruce's associates said to the billionaire. Jason feared their quips would change Bruce's mind about him but the more time they spent together, the fear dwindled. "Well, one, they were irritating as crap. Two, they were so pathetically sad at insults it wasn't even funny. And three, if they can say mean things to me, they can do it to anyone else just as easily."

Upon hearing the last reason, Bruce softened in his spot. Of course Jason was trying to be a protector again. His actions always seemed to speak louder than words ever could. "While I understand your reasoning, there were better ways to take a stand, Jason."

"I swear, if you're referring to those speak up commercials, you know those are just a shit-ton of lies. A 'good talking to' doesn't work on some people, Bruce." Jason stated, shaking his head. More often than not, he was one of those people that needed more than a 'talking-to,' though he was getting better about listening, if barely.

Bruce sighed. "I'm aware. I know that sometimes it takes someone standing up to them to chase people like that off for good. But _throwing them through a window_ is _not_ an acceptable approach. Just show them you mean business, Jason. You don't need the whole school fearing you."

The boy sighed. "I know…"

"Good." Bruce said, nodding his head as he pulled into the driveway of Wayne Manor.

Jason let a tiny snort and sarcastically said, "What? No advice on how to better throw people because you already saw the footage before you got to the school?

"Well, I wasn't going to comment on it but your form _was_ off."

"You fucking bastard! I was making a _joke_!"

* * *

When Jason was allowed back at school, he almost expected everyone to be against him for what happened. However, he only got curious looks from most, fearful ones from a tiny bit, and, dare he say, respect from an even smaller percentage of the student body. He ignored the looks, though, and hardly noticed when the girl he helped out fell by his side. Only when she drawled a slow 'so' did he look at her.

"Yes?" Jason asked, frowning at the brunette.

The girl only smiled nervously and shrugged. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Ignore Devin and his crew like that. I heard you even stood up to some of them the other day." The girl continued.

Jason grinned. "Oh, it's really simple actually. I just don't give a fuck."

* * *

 **Note: This was originally gonna be called "I Give Zero Fucks" but I wanted to keep the name clean, at least. The rest, not so much.**

 **This is dedicated to anyone who has been flamed/bullied/cyber-bullied/abused in general. May we find a way to give zero fucks as well because there are some jerk-faces who will never be anything but. My best friend and her sister also wants me to say this is partly inspired by a flame I got and laughed hysterically at for a solid half-hour. It sure was a driving force. XD *thumbs up***

 **Other than that, this is also just supposed to be my take on a Jason-bullying situation. I would honestly think growing up in his situation would prevent you from feeling too hurt by insults you hardly even know (but that's just me; others might see differently) but, with that said, he'd be extra sensitive to others because of the times he took care of his mother. The only people he would want acceptance from is Bruce and Alfred by this point. He would also use his actions to speak for him instead of words because that's just the way he is. But again, this is all just my feelings. Feel free to disagree but don't be a jerk about it please. :D**

 **So... That about covers everything. *dances***


End file.
